ABTA names Ryan Salinas outstanding '10 summer medical student fellow

The American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) has announced that Ryan Salinas, now a 2nd-year medical student at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is the 2010 Lucien Rubenstein Award recipient. The work of Salinas, one of 10 ABTA Medical Student Summer Fellows in 2010, was deemed "outstanding" by the organization's distinguished Scientific Advisory Council.

Salinas' research focused on the role of histone demathylase JMJD3 as a potential treatment target for glioblastoma. He worked under the direction of Daniel A. Lim, M.D.,Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at UCSF.

Each year, the American Brain Tumor Association offers a select group of medical students the opportunity to spend 8-to-10 weeks in a brain tumor research laboratory. Based on reports that each student is required to submit at the end of their summer internship, an outstanding student is selected to receive the Lucien Rubenstein Award. The award is named in honor of Dr. Lucien J. Rubinstein, a professor of neuropathology at the University of Virginia and a world-renowned brain tumor researcher. As part of the award, the outstanding student receives $1,000 in addition to his or her $3,000 summer fellowship stipend.

"Through the generosity of ABTA, I have developed a great interest in the underlying biology of brain tumors and learned a variety of scientific techniques to explore this disease," said Salinas, who is currently "working on identifying other genes that can help re-program tumor cells to be less aggressive."

"Ryan has already demonstrated remarkable creativity on both the experimental and conceptual level. He has the potential to make discoveries that can change the way we treat brain tumors. I thank the ABTA for recognizing this very unique individual," said Dr. Lim.

"We are proud of the American Brain Tumor Association's historical support of young, talented researchers working to improve brain tumor diagnostics and treatment, said ABTA Executive Director Elizabeth Wilson. "We commend Mr. Salinas for his outstanding work and look forward to his having a long and distinguished career of significant contributions to brain tumor research."

Provided by American Brain Tumor Association